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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · band · jam · club · branch · field · rest · cap

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. branch — a division
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rest — what's left
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. cap — a hat
  9. club — for golf
  10. field — for sport
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. field — a subject
  13. cap — a lid
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. band — a ring
  18. cap — of ice
  19. band — a music group
  20. rest — a break
  21. club — a group
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rest — what's left
  24. club — for dancing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com